WRC participants highly appreciated the new Hankook tires

The official debut of Hankook as the exclusive tire supplier for the World Rally Championship (WRC) took place in Monte Carlo, and, according to the official series website, the Korean brand's tires received high praise from drivers and teams.

The Monte Carlo Rally is known for its unpredictable conditions, posing significant challenges to the tire supplier, and Hankook prepared the Ventus Z215 tires for dry and wet surfaces, as well as the Winter i*cept SR20 for potential ice, for the first stage of the season.

According to Toyota Gazoo Racing team director Jari-Matti Latvala, whose drivers Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans took first and second place in the race, respectively, Hankook did a great job. "Everything was fine," he said. "We don't want the result to depend on who was lucky with the tires, and the new tires' durability was excellent. Thank you, Hankook, for this. I think they did an excellent job for their first stage as a supplier."

Evans expressed similar sentiments: "I have to say that for a debut, everything was very positive. Maybe the level of grip was a bit different from what we're used to, but it's worth noting that the reliability of the tires is much better than before. Of course, tires from different brands are different, and they'll have to learn something, but in Monte Carlo, there were no problems."

Ott Tänak, who finished fifth, also noted the high reliability of the new tires. "In Monte Carlo, the tires usually have a hard time, and there's a risk of major cuts, but the tires performed great. Besides, the slicks had very high grip, and maybe for next year, the winter tire could be slightly improved, but I think that's all part of the process."

Sébastien Ogier told Dirtfish that "although certain characteristics of the tires can be improved, for the first race, everything was pretty good." "I think there were fewer problems with the tires, and there were very few punctures," he added. "For me, that's already very good news, because last season I had a lot of trouble with punctures, although the tires did get better in that regard during the Pirelli series. So, from that point of view, everything starts well, but of course, we'll discuss and talk about how to improve the tires in the future, but overall, the debut was successful."

Hankook was also pleased with the results of the race. "As a tire supplier, we're very proud of what we achieved in Monte Carlo last week," said the company's motorsport director, Manfred Sandbichler. "We're very happy with this success and satisfied with how we did our job."

Next month, at the Rally Sweden, the studded Winter i*Pike SR10W tires, designed for the most challenging winter conditions, will make their debut.

Photo: WRC.com